Revenge
by VintageValentino
Summary: Stephanie and Ranger are on a break from Trenton when Stephanie goes missing. Can Ranger find her in time?
1. Chapter 1

**I own nothing.**

She hated him. He could feel it. Florida was a beautiful place to be in the spring and Stephanie had the glass doors of the luxury condo on the beach open and was staring vacantly at the ocean. Ranger had brought Stephanie to Florida thinking she needed time away. He'd thought a bonus of that time away would be a chance to know each other better so that she'd be confident that he was the one man who would do everything in his power to never let her down. He wanted her to move on and he needed her to move on with him.

Ranger lifted the water bottle to his lips and took a slow drink of the cold water before turning and heading for the gym. He was filled with frustrated energy and if he couldn't work it off in the way he wanted, he'd burn it off weight lifting. He adjusted the disks and waved Tank over to spot for him. As always he marveled at how he could count on Tank to be in the gym any time of the day or night he felt like he needed a workout.

Ranger had never liked being second best and he'd never done it for any other woman. He cared about Stephanie, cared enough to hang on hoping that one day Morelli would do what Ranger knew he would do and Stephanie's path would be clear. Not that Morelli wasn't a good guy. Morelli and Stephanie just had something off between them. If they hadn't, they'd have committed long ago and Stephanie wouldn't be showing up for random workouts in Ranger's bed. Had he made a mistake? Had he hung back too much? It was certainly starting to look like he had. Morelli was firmly out of the picture now and Ranger had viewed that as progress. If only the bastard hadn't gotten himself killed so soon after the breakup. Ranger could have competed with Morelli in the flesh if he'd wanted to do so, he always could have but dead Morelli…..memories had a way of erasing flaws.

Ranger finished his workout and stepped into the shower. As the water poured over his body, he organized his plan of action. He'd order dinner - something special - that horribly unhealthy stuff she liked. They would sit down and he would talk more honestly and openly than he ever had. He'd tell her his hopes for his own future and for them together. It was all or nothing and by the end of tonight he hoped they'd be farther ahead than they were now. Plan set, he dressed quickly.

Ranger ran up the stairs two at a time to the room where he'd left Stephanie. As soon as he stepped in and felt the cool salt breeze on his face his senses told him that something had gone horribly wrong. Stephanie was no longer there and if his Stephanie sense wasn't failing him, she was no longer in the house. He headed for the open door and stepped outside. Nothing seemed to be disturbed. He stepped back into the room just as a small sheet of paper the size of a slip from a fortune cookie danced through the air on the slight breeze. Ranger snatched the slip deftly from the air and felt his stomach fall as he read the neatly printed words.

"_Those who plot the destruction of others often perish in the attempt."_

Ranger pulled his cell phone from his pocket and hit speed dial to connect with Tank. He had a good idea who had taken his Babe and if they thought he was just going to lie down and take it, they truly didn't know him.


	2. Chapter 2

Her first sensation of one of water. The wet floor beneath her, the heavy moisture in the air. Stephanie opened her eyes slowly to adjust to the light but she needn't have bothered as everything was dark around her. She shivered involuntarily imagining the bugs living in this cold, damp, dark place. Mentally she inventoried her body parts and found them all present and screaming loudly in pain.

Her choices now were either to panic, look for a way out or wait to see what happened. She weighed each option and there didn't seem to be any value in panicking while looking for a way out would mean feeling around and perhaps encountering the creepy crawlie things she imagined to be larger than her head, so waiting it out seemed the only viable option.

Stephanie mentally cataloged observations of the people who had taken her. Okay, there were few. Someone had come up behind her and knocked her out. She'd been blindfolded and questioned about her relationship with Ranger. She felt her face. Was the blindfold still on? It wasn't. Her relationship with Ranger, there was a loaded question. How do you explain something you don't understand yourself? Thankfully, he'd instructed her to minimize their connection if she was ever in such a situation so she told the male voice that she was entertainment and had no knowledge at all of Ranger's business dealings – the latter, at the very least, was the truth.

Stephanie linked her hands above her head and stretched her back and then settled back against the wall. Her life had been a mess but she had just been getting back on track when it all went to hell again. She'd switched Joe Morelli, her on again/off again boyfriend into the permanent off position and had decided to stop listening to everyone else. Joe had been great but together than were match and kerosene. When Joe had been killed, she'd felt guilty. Logically she knew that she couldn't have done anything to prevent his death but irrationally she wondered if they had stayed together would he have been more careful when facing off with a robber holding a restaurant full of people hostage.

Her butt was falling asleep so she shifted again. A bright light suddenly switched on from a doorway in the corner and something hard and plastic hit her lap.

"Put it on," said the male voice that had questioned her. Stephanie slipped a fitted mask over her face that caused everything to go black again. She felt people coming toward her – two of them – each taking an arm. Stephanie felt herself start to panic. She'd planned to live to be very old, record breakingly old. Today was not the day to die.

"Whatever you're thinking, Ms. Plum, I would suggest you resign yourself to being our guest for a while. There's no way out for you." The people flanking Stephanie pulled her forward. Her senses told her that they were both much taller than herself.

"Just walk. My people have experience guiding and will make sure that you're unhurt." Her captor advised, laughter in his voice. The person on her right chuckled at the implied inside joke and Stephanie felt her skin crawl.

They walked a short distance before she found herself being pushed into a chair.

"The way that this will work, Ms. Plum, is that you will call Ricardo Manoso. You will tell him that you are with John Minardi and are safe. If you deviate from this script, I will hurt you. I will then take the phone and my old friend and I, we'll have a chat. Do you understand?" He asked. Stephanie nodded her head that she did.

"I'd prefer to hear your lovely voice," he said.

"Yes," Stephanie said. As hard as she struggled to stay calm she knew that some of the quaking she felt must be showing through.

"Perfect," she heard him pick up the phone and heard the sounds of dialing. Ranger answered before she felt the phone at her ear.

"Ranger?" she asked softly.

"Babe? Are you okay?" His voice was calm but she could feel the anger and concern rolling off of the tone. What would Ranger do? Never let them see you sweat. She calmed a bit and spoke clearly and slowly.

"I am with John Minardi and I'm safe." The phone was pulled quickly away from her ear but she heard the exclamation of anger through the line.

Oh, John Minardi, you have made a mistake.


	3. Chapter 3

Ranger slammed the receiver to the cradle and turned to Tank.

"Got it," Ranger's long time friend and employee confirmed. "You know Minardi though, tracking means nada." Ranger, Tank and 8 other Rangeman employees were gathered in the living room which they had hastily converted into a war room.

"Is he here in Miami?" Ranger asked.

"Negative," Hal broke in, consulting the read out, "We've got him in Orlando but you know Minardi, he's here. He hasn't had time to get anywhere else. He's going to have Stephanie on lockdown."

"You heard him say he wants to negotiate so he's keeping her alive," Ranger took a deep breath, "for now."

"What's this about?" asked Rey, one of the newer Rangeman. Hal laughed and Ranger silenced him with a look.

"I'm not going to sit here and wonder what we can do to get Stephanie back. It's time to get going on this. Tank, call Trenton and bring in our field team. I need our best intel on this and I need it now." Ranger ordered. Tank nodded and turned to the phone. "Hal, try to be less of a jackass. I have an unknown but very limited amount of time to get Stephanie back and we are going to get her back." Hal turned back to his computer as Ranger strode from the room.

"Seriously, what's this about?" Rey prodded.

"John Minardi and Ranger are old rivals. Lots of battle but no one winning the war until a few years ago. Ranger took down Minardi's brother, probably the only person on the planet that asshat would die for" Hal explained as he continued to type into his computer working his way into satellite software that could be used for searches. At the same time he contacted a special friend in the Miami police with access to the sort of equipment they'd need. "The brothers were some bad dudes and you never saw them solo. Into drugs and prostitution and killing for fun. They were both up on Fed charges when Ranger caught up with the brother and took him off the streets. Shot John too but he got away. Shattered his kneecap so if I had money on it, I'd say look for the guy with the limp. The Feebs have the brother holed up somewhere and Minardi wants him back."

"What would the FBI want with a guy into those sorts of things?" Rey asked.

"In his travels, Paul Minardi, the brother, he met up with the worst of the worst and the Feebs said 'You work with us, we'll work with you.' This guy who is killing hookers and a generation of meth heads, he says, 'No way.' He suddenly grew some morals, I guess. The Feebs pass Paulie on to someone outside of the books in their organization and they're trying to make him talk.

Guantanamo Bay type of shit. That's hurting Minardi's feelings and hurting them bad. He had to be planning this for a long time. Watching and waiting." Hal said.

"So we give him his brother and he gives us Stephanie. That can't be done?" Rey asked.

"It shouldn't be done," Hal laughed. " No matter what we give him, he gives us Stephanie's dead body and probably not in 100 pieces. He and his brother, they're tight. They're blood. This is personal on more levels than either of us can imagine." They all looked toward the door as Ranger walked back into the room.

"Paul Minardi is deep. Tank, your first priority is to find him because once we find him, I'm going to use him. You know John, if we're going to keep Stephanie alive, he's going to need to hear his brother scream." Hal turned back to his computer because if he had to tell the truth, the look on Ranger's face was scaring him a lot. He was very glad not be John or Paul Minardi at that moment.


	4. Chapter 4

Stephanie was back in the dark, wet, room. She wasn't sure how much time had passed. She'd been playing memories in her mind like home movies. Some were happy, some sad. When the memories turned to Morelli, she'd started making plans for what she would do when she got out of this situation. That her face had been covered was encouraging. If her captors had let her see them, she'd have known for sure that they'd planned to kill her.

She pictured Ranger and despite the near hopelessness of her situation, she smiled. Stephanie pictured Ranger smiling as well which, admittedly, he didn't do a lot but when he did, his smile was dazzlingly infectious. She pictured him peeling his clothes away to reveal his gleaming mocha latte skin. She shook her head. This was seriously the time to focus. What would Ranger do?

Ranger. Stephanie sighed heavily. She couldn't deny that there had always been something between them. Stephanie was the first to admit that over the last few years she hadn't been exactly tuned in. There had been an attraction that was electric and Ranger had run hot and cold which was annoying as hell. That sort of attraction hadn't been something she'd felt with anyone else. She'd realized, in her quest with Morelli, that she wasn't someone who ever wanted to be married again. Been there, done that, and burned the t-shirt. She liked living in her own apartment and having her own space. Ranger seemed to think that relationship meant kids and picket fences but Stephanie realized that her own definition had changed and what had annoyed her was that his hadn't seemed to have altered but he was once again throwing her mixed signals.

She wanted monogamy not babies. They would have a lot to talk about when she got out of this mess. What she really wanted. It was about time he heard what she wanted and about time he said yes or no and they moved on. She forced her focus back to her current predicament. Plenty of time to set things right if they ever made it back together.

In the past, Stephanie would get into scraps and someone would save her and she would blithely go on with her life. It was time to tune in. It was time to make a plan. She knew Ranger was coming but that didn't mean she couldn't make life a little easier for him.

The door opened again. No one spoke and the door closed slowly and quietly leaving only a thin band of light to filter into the room. As the person approached, Stephanie determined the shape to be female. The woman crouched next to her.

"I need for you to come with me," she said. "I want you to be as quick and quiet as you can be. If you do what I tell you, you won't be hurt. Do you understand?" Stephanie nodded. Had Ranger been quicker than she anticipated?

"Who are you?" Stephanie asked, as the woman helped her up.

"That's not important right now. The important thing is to get you out of here." The woman led her through the door and then into a hallway. This was clearly some sort of office building and

they were in its depths. As her eyes adjusted to the light, Stephanie could clearly see her new best friend. The woman was a little taller than Stephanie and her blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail. Her most notable attribute was that she was armed – heavily armed. Stephanie swallowed back a wave of panic at the large handgun the woman was holding. Guns had never been her thing.

They moved quickly and reached the end of the hallway where an elevator sat on the right side and a staircase on the left. Stephanie's new friend pulled her toward the staircase but slipped around to wait under it when they heard footsteps above them.

"How long are you going to wait for him?" someone asked.

"Not too much longer," her primary captor answered. "We can probably move her today. We're going to have to stay ahead of Manoso and you've worked with his men so you know that's not going to be easy." Stephanie wished that she could look around the staircase to see if she recognized the first speaker. Her new friend held her back. The voices receded as those conversing moved down the hallway.

"We have seconds until they realize you're gone so we have to move," the woman whispered. She pulled Stephanie around the staircase and ran up them so that she had a very hard time keeping up. By the time they reached the top, a security alarm was going off. Her new friend nodded toward a set of doors on their right.

"Run. There's a black Expedition waiting. I'll take care of this." They heard pounding footsteps coming from the staircase and the woman ran toward the noise while shouting something into a handheld device. Stephanie took her advice and ran to the doors but found them locked. She heard gunshots in the background. She needed to find a way out and she needed to find it now.

"Stay back!" Someone yelled through the doorway. She ran back just as the front end of a black Expedition crashed through. The SUV pulled back to sit parallel with the broken entry. The rear passenger door flew open.

"Jump in!" a Hispanic male with dark hair yelled to her. Stephanie hesitated as her blonde friend came up behind her.

"Get in!" she shouted, pushing Stephanie forward. Stephanie fell forward into the SUV and the blonde woman jumped in after her. The SUV shot forward just as two huge and heavily armed men filled the opening and lifted their guns to shoot. Bullets pinged off of the exterior metal and Stephanie crouched down and covered her head with her arms. Someone laughed.

"You don't need to worry, we're bulletproof." He said, "Nothing they have will make anything but a dent." Stephanie heaved a sigh of relief and got her first good look at her rescuers. The blonde woman held out her hand.

"KT," she said.

"What?"

"My name is KT," she said again with a smile. She waved toward the young, heavily muscled, Hispanic male and the driver who could have been his twin, "This is Jamie and his brother Eddie."

"Are you with Ranger?" Stephanie asked hopefully. The fourth and final occupant appeared to be in the late 40's age range. Very nice looking and fit with only touches of gray at the temples of his richly, dark, hair.

"No, sweetheart, I'm not with Manoso. I'm John Minardi and you were kidnapped by people trying to force my hand to turn against people I'd rather work with. If any survive, I must thank them. I had no idea that Manoso had finally formed an attachment with someone and I've been waiting such a very long time."


	5. Chapter 5

"Police were called to the Design District in Miami. Looks like some bad shit went down in one of the buildings. Someone tried to make the building a drive through. They picked up some DNA and," Tank paused "a long piece of curly, dark, hair." He and Ranger were in the Rangeman mobile unit following up on possible from Hal's satellite research.

"You got someone in there?" Ranger asked.

"Affirmative. The building has vid and they're scanning it now." Tank confirmed.

"The area is on our hit list. Let's head over." Ranger ordered. Tank nodded and radioed up to Rey, who was in the driver's seat. Being confined in a small space with Ranger over the last five hours had been like being in a trapped with a hungry lion. The restless energy and genuine contained panic had seeped through everything they'd done. Tank didn't think that anyone who didn't know Ranger would have recognized the extreme worry but Tank saw it loud and clear and as the day had gone on, he'd seen the despair of finding Stephanie in time. Ranger wasn't losing hope but he was getting close. Tank's phone vibrated. It was his sometimes squeeze and contact with the police, Officer Janice Maldavo.

"Go," he said.

"Your girl does she have dark frizzy hair, light yoga pants, dark tank, bare feet?" She asked. As any cop would be, Janice was hesitant to betray her professional code but she'd known Tank a long time and knew that he wouldn't ask if it wasn't important.

"Yes! That's her!" Ranger said before Tank had a chance to respond.

"We have visual of her in the lobby as a dark colored SUV hit the doors and then being forced into the SUV with a sub known to us as Katherine Taylor." Malvado explained.

"Did you get a plate?" Tank asked.

"We did. Stolen last week. No help there."

"Fatalities?" Ranger asked.

"Three. All male and all unknown. They were kitted like trained special forces but we all know how accessible that sort of firepower is now. I will call you if we get an ID," she said.

"What do you know about Taylor?" Ranger asked. He was elated. They had gone from nothing to having something and with something came hope. They were going to get his Babe back and then they were never going to let her go.

"That's the bad news. Her known associates are James and Eduardo Vasquez both members of Los Cabrones." Ranger glanced at Tank.

"What does the Cuban gang want with Stephanie?" he asked.

"That is unknown," Maldavo said, "But if I find out, you'll be the first to know. I can give you a lead on where to start. Got a pen?" she gave him an address not far from the design district. "This is the Vasquez family home and Taylor's last known address. I don't know what you'll find there beside their mother and try not to hurt her."

"Will do," Tank agreed. "I owe you dinner."

"You owe me an expensive dinner," Maldavo said before hanging up. Tank called up to Rey with the new destination and then turned to Ranger.

"So what have you done to piss off a Cuban gang?" he asked.

"Not sure," Ranger said. "This can't be about me. It all has to tie into Minardi somehow. If it's a ransom issue, they'd have called by now. I have a feeling, Tank, there's much more than we realize going on here."

"I think you're right," Tank agreed.

"Let's gear up," Ranger said, turning to the wall and choosing his favorite knife. Tank's eyes widened.

"What do you have planned?" he asked his long time friend. Ranger stared at his knife before looping it into his belt.

"This is a situation, Tank, where we do what we have to do. My Abula always said to believe half of what I see and nothing I hear. I expect nothing more than word getting out. I want them to know I'm out here. You know I've earned a certain reputation here in Miami. I want them to feel the heat of it and know that whatever they do to Stephanie, I'll do to them and everyone they've ever loved." Ranger said.

Tank wasn't sure he was ready for what Ranger had planned.


	6. Chapter 6

Rey pulled the van down a quiet tree lined street stopping at the address that Tank had given him. It struck him as ironic that two ganged up thugs lived at such an upscale address. It was 3pm and little girls in plaid private school skirts and little boys in blue private school blazers walked home in the dappled sunlight.

Rey had been working in deep cover for in the Rangeman organization for a while. His co-workers were brutal and skirted the line but as far as he could tell, they'd not yet crossed over. Today might be the day that they do.

"We're here. Blue house on the left," he called back to Ranger and Tank. Ranger pulled a lightweight jacket over his gun and knife despite the near 90 degree temperature outside. Tank watched his boss and then shook his head waiting for him to get out of the van before he followed.

Ranger walked to the white picket fence and opened the gate.

"This is creepy," said Tank. "Perfect neighborhood. I wonder if they know the evil that lurks within." Ranger shot him a look and Tank held up his hands. Before ringing the doorbell, Ranger shook his shoulders and relaxed his face giving himself the look of someone who was just in the neighborhood and not there to do anyone any harm. He rang the doorbell.

The door was opened by a Latina girl of around 15 in a private school uniform. Her long hair was pulled back so that a little ponytail hung down held up by a blue ribbon.

"Yes?" she said. Ranger smiled.

"I'm looking for James and Eduardo," Ranger said pleasantly. His tone indicating friendliness, "Are they here?" She turned to look behind her and Ranger took that as all the sign he needed and pushed past her gently placing her shoulders against the wall. Tank closed the door behind them. The girl's eyes narrowed.

"They're not here. What do you nacos want?" she snapped. Ranger laughed and pushed back his jacket.

"You might want to reconsider calling us trash," he said amiably. Her eyes widened at the sight of his knife as he lightly touched the handle. "I want to know where they are and I want to know now."

"They're not here," she said, suddenly seeming like a little girl again. She continued in a tired voice, "They haven't been here for a while."

"What about Katherine Taylor?" he asked.

"That puta? KT got herself a sugar daddy. Some rich Italiano." She said, shrugging. She pushed Ranger's hand off of her shoulder. "Stop trying to feel me up." She snapped. He smiled inwardly, she was so young that she didn't realize how young she was.

"Do they stay here?" he asked. She didn't answer but her expression said all he needed to know. "Take me there." He demanded. She seemed to argue with herself and then shrugged and turned to lead them to the basement.

"This is where KT sleeps," she said. "they all spend a lot of time down here." She turned to go but Ranger stopped her knowing that as soon as she was out of sight she'd be on the phone to people they didn't want to take the time to deal with.

The room was small but luxurious. There was a desk covered in papers in a corner and Ranger nodded to Tank to keep an eye on the girl while he checked for leads. At the corner of the desk was a pay and go phone and Ranger flipped it open to find two numbers listed in the call memory. He slipped the phone into his pocket. He skimmed through the papers on the desk. KT liked guns and there were gun magazines and receipts and a torn piece of paper with a phone number. Ranger pocketed the phone number before spotting a picture under the edge of the blotter. John Minardi was pictured with his arm around a blonde woman. Another man stood next to them. Ranger didn't know where they were but he was going to find out. He heard the crash of a door slamming against the wall upstairs and smiled. He wasn't the only one looking for these guys and maybe with the right encouragement, he could find out what the competition knew.


	7. Chapter 7

Tank looked toward the girl wondering if she would scream or recognize that the unknown might be more dangerous than what she faced. She just stood there, wide eyed. He felt a moment of sadness with the knowledge that this probably wasn't the first time she'd had to deal with the consequences of actions of relatives she'd not been able to choose. Ranger nodded toward the girl and edged from the room. Tank took his meaning and looked around noting the drop ceiling. He removed one of the tiles and judged the weight of the girl. Once satisfied he spoke softly to her.

"I'm going to lift you up into the ceiling and put the tile back into place. It won't be comfortable but you need to stay there until I either come back for you or you hear a horn honk three times. Do you understand?" She nodded, still wide eyed. "I promise that as long as I can prevent it, nothing bad is going to happen to you." He lifted her gently as though she weighed no more than a sheet of paper into the ceiling and replaced the tile. He edged silently out of the room following the path that Ranger had taken.

Ranger stood at the top of the stairs and listened to footsteps as the intruders swept the rooms. The command person was stationary and beyond him, he could hear two more steps of footsteps. The military boot sound and the precision of the search led him to believe professional while the path of the search suggested special op training. Ranger felt Tank come up behind him. No need to share the observations that Ranger had made as he knew Tank would have come to the same conclusions.

Ranger nodded to indicate that he would be going toward the door and that Tank should flank the other way. Ranger had no doubt that Tank could subdue two intruders, military training or not, but the person he really wanted was the command and Ranger could sense where he'd be standing. Pulling his gun from the holster, Ranger edged around toward the front door in the hope of getting behind the command.

"Drop the weapon!" he heard someone shout. There was a clatter as the firearm fell to the tile floor.

"I come in peace," Tank. He'd give any intel that he could so Ranger continued to edge around as he Tank was led toward his position. There was a bark of laughter when he stopped.

"Tony Collins, I should have known," he said loudly. Why was Tony Collins pursuing Cuban gangsters? They'd been in the Rangers together and a lot of bad blood had passed between them culminating in Collins being dishonorably discharged from the military. If Collins was in on this, Ranger could be sure that it was bigger and nastier than he'd ever imagined. He blood went icy cold at the thought of what Stephanie must be facing.

"Where's Manoso?" he heard Collins ask. "I know he can't be too far behind you." Ranger took the words as his cue to step forward. He moved swiftly up behind Collins and placed the muzzle of his handgun to the back of the man's head.

"I'm here," Ranger said in a softly cold voice, "and I'm wondering why you're here. I know you're just dying to tell me." Collins laughed.

"Nice move, Manoso. I've got two of my best here. You try anything and you're not getting out alive."

"I hope your best are also superhumanly quick because if you try anything you'll die first." Ranger said pressing the muzzle just slightly harder against the back of Collins' head. It was a psychological tact and from the tensing of muscles showed Ranger it was working.

"What I'm doing here is classified but I'm assuming that you and I are both looking for John Minardi." Ranger couldn't help but betray a little surprise but recovered quickly.

"You say the surveillance tape." He said, no question in his voice.

"I did," Collins said. "I saw your girlfriend too. Nice but not to the standard I'd expect from a ladies' man like you." Ranger didn't take the bait.

"What do you know?" he growled, pressing the muzzle harder into the back of Collins' head so that he bent forward slightly.

"Easy, tiger. If I knew more than you do, I wouldn't be here. Minardi stole something from me and I want it back."

"Who are you working for?" Ranger asked knowing that Collins didn't even get out of bed if the money wasn't right.

"This one is all me and its all pleasure. I have a list of scores to settle and Minardi is going to help me to get even with the person at the top of the list." Tank chilled at the look in Collins' eyes because at that moment he had no doubt as to who was at the top of the list and who needed to get to Stephanie first.

The door opened behind Ranger and he turned keeping the gun to Collins' head.

"Drop the gun. Please don't make me shoot you, Ranger," Rey said pressing his own gun to the back of Ranger's head.


	8. Chapter 8

Ranger smiled slightly at the feel of cold steel against the back of his neck. He always knew that there was something slightly off about Rey. Looking at Collins' accomplices, he had no doubt that Rey was unknown to them. Not standard operating procedure to send a cover operative known to your population, they could unwittingly give him away so Ranger wasn't surprised. He lowered the gun and spoke softly.

"Drop the gun, Rey, or my knife will be in your stomach before your bullet hits my brain." Ranger lowered his gun but didn't put it back in the holster, Rey did the same.

"Now we can talk like regular people," Collins said turning slowly and smiling casually as though they'd been stuck in a crowded elevator. Only a professional would note the doubt that flickered across Collins' features as he glanced at Rey. Ranger was nothing if not a professional. He turned to Rey.

"My guess is that you haven't met Tony Collins," he waved at the tall, blond, man standing next to him. "I can't say that I'm sorry you broke this up because it was all getting a little tense but I think that now is the time you tell me who you work for."

As soon as Rey fished the folded case from his pocket, Collins and Ranger knew that he was a Federal Agent.

"Feds," they said together,.

"I should have known," Ranger said, "who else would come alone into a fight against five guns."

"Special Op trained guns," Collins elaborated.

"It worked," Rey said. In actual fact he was peeved to have had to break his cover but he could not let Ranger kill Collins. As much as the Agency believed Rangeman skirted the law, Collins was the enemy they wanted to keep close. Too much time with Collins and he might reveal that he had been the one acting outside of the Agency and holding Stephanie in that basement. Rey felt the sting of loss as it had been his co-workers who died when they escaped and for that he'd liked to have killed Collins himself but, for now, they needed him alive. As soon as Rey had reported to his superiors, Collins had shown up and Rey didn't believe in coincidences.

Ranger turned back to Collins, "I still want to know what you're looking for here."

"Information, Manoso," he said. "I know you're big on acting first and thinking later but my philosophy is that you can never have enough information."

"Try again," Ranger said. Ranger's posture was calculated to reach his knife as soon as he needed to do so. Collins' pretended not to notice but Ranger knew he did. Instead Collins turned to Rey.

"What's your agency telling you about Minardi?" he asked.

Rey nearly spit at him. Was the FBI no longer talking to Collins or was he playing a part for Ranger? Rey only knew Collins by reputation but he seemed to have a bad habit of striking hard and quick.

"I haven't heard anything," he said, "My assignment is strictly Rangeman." Ranger's eyes narrowed.

"But you can find out?" he asked.

"I could," Rey said slowly. "It may not be much more than you have."

"I'm tempted to allow Tank to throw your ass out of the front window but if you're going to be useful to me, I just might let you live." Ranger said, his stance betraying the superhuman ability to keep his temper in check. Ultimately, his concern for Stephanie won over his sense of betrayal. That Rey could see the battle raging within the usually supremely composed Ranger scared him.

"I think it's time we all leave," Tank said from the hallway where he stood with Collins' agents. He could imagine the girl was in severe pain from the metal frame of the drop ceiling. "Ranger and I have been through and there's no one here."

"Works for me. I found what I was looking for," Collins said.

Tank hung back while everyone else walked out though Collins' agents gave him an odd look.

"Gotta hit the can. Too much coffee today," he said before running down to lift the girl out of the drop ceiling.

"This is why you stay out of trouble, kid," he said as she rubbed her limbs. "Remember this when you have kids."


	9. Chapter 9

Stephanie was stunned into silence by John Minardi's revelation of his identity. The silence lasted the length of the parking lot.

"You can't be, that guy back there…." She sputtered.

"Is not John Minardi," he said gently. "His name is Tony Collins. Has Manoso never mentioned the name to you?" Stephanie shook her head.

"Tony Collins works for the FBI but he's not directly with the FBI. When the Agency has really dirty work for which they want deniability, they bring Tony Collins in on the job. We each have a bad history with Manoso. He facilitated my brother's arrest and incarceration by these criminals with a badge. Tony was given my brother, Paul, to break him. They wanted information to close a case they'd been working on for years. Tony kidnapped you thinking that what I wanted more than anything was to take Manoso down for turning my brother in, so he offered you to me in exchange for convincing my brother to talk. Torture hadn't worked, you see. Of course, in order to offer you, he had to have you. What Tony doesn't realize is that my hate for Manoso doesn't compare to how I feel about him. He's sent me pictures." Tony paused, putting a hand over his eyes. "I wanted to beg Paul to speak but I know we can't. Now, we turn the tables on Collins. If you help me, I will let you live. This is the only deal I'll offer."

Stephanie sat silently sensing the sinister nature of Minardi's intent and wondering if in her heart, she could go along with what he had planned. He spoke again.

"You know, Manoso lives by a code. I respect him for standing up for his principles. He took my brother in because that was his job and he was honor bound to do it. In the capture he did as little damage as he could and trusted in the system. The system isn't always right, it isn't always good. There are always men like Tony Collins in the system who will use it for their own advancement or profit at all costs. I have a picture, Ms. Plum, I'd like to show it to you." He reached into his pocket and placed her a picture on Polaroid film. She glanced at the picture and dropped it immediately, the image burned in her memory. KT picked it up and passed it back to Minardi, averting her eyes.

"The blond man in the picture, he's laughing. Did you see him?" Minardi asked. Stephanie nodded, unable to speak.

"That's Tony Collins. Did you recognize what he was holding in his hand?" he asked. Stephanie nodded her head not wanting to think about it.

"He loves that sort of torture. This isn't a posed picture to show me that he will continue doing what he needs to do, this is pure joy for him. This is what he would have ultimately done with you because he wasn't going to give you to me, he was going to dangle you so that I would give him what he wanted and then his hate for Manoso would have caused him to send pictures like this to him." Stephanie wiped the tears away that were streaming down her cheeks. She might not fully know where she stood with Ranger but she knew that he cared enough that this would break him.

"I want you to know that I would love to kill you. I would love to throw in Manosos face that he took what I love and now I have what he loves. An eye for an eye. I don't live by the same code as Manoso, Ms. Plum, but I do live by a code of vengeance. You help me and you will even the score that I have with your boyfriend and you will walk away. I promise you that."

Eduardo's cell phone rang and he flipped it open and listened for a few minutes before flipping the phone shut.

"That was Rey, they're at the house. Manoso and Collins. He tells me Manoso got in first so Yolanda is safe." Jamie and KT sagged back against the seat.

"Yolanda is Jamie and Eduardo's sister," KT explained. "I have a feeling that you're new to this sort of world?"

"Not so much," Stephanie said, taking a shaky breath. "Wait? Rey called you? Ranger's Rey? Why would Ranger's Rey be calling you?" KT smiled broadly.

"Rey is an FBI agent but he's also Jamie and Eduardo's brother. John knew about the FBIs interest in Rangeman so used his connections to get Rey the job. Kind of a double agent kind of gig. He keeps the FBI informed about Rangeman but, more importantly, he keeps us informed about Manoso." KT laughed at the expression of shock on Stephanie's face, "You can never trust anyone," KT said, "but sometimes when you're out of options it's worth a shot."

"Are you with us?" Minardi asked. Stephanie took another deep breath and looked around at the other people in the car. What would Ranger do? He would use his advantage and keep his options open.

"I'm in," she said hoping that whatever was expected of her she could carry off and once done, she'd be reunited with Ranger.


	10. Chapter 10

Minardi smiled at Stephanie and nodded to KT.

"Send the file," he instructed. She nodded and reached next to her to pull a small laptop out from between the seat and the wall. She opened the case and hit a button.

"It's done," she confirmed. He turned back to Stephanie.

"We've sent a document directly to Rey which he'll share with Manoso. I don't need Manoso to take Collins but it would help me to have operatives of the quality he has at his fingertips in case things go bad. Whatever happens, you don't want to be in a room with Collins longer than you need to be." He shifted uncomfortably as though remembering the pain. "Eduardo is going to take us to a safe house. You'll be able to clean up and change clothes and we'll have some time to brace ourselves before the real work begins.

Eduardo's phone rang and he flipped it open. Stephanie couldn't hear what he was saying but his tone was one of alarm. He flipped his phone shut and was silent for a few moments.

"He had to break cover," he announced solemnly.

"Is Rey okay?" KT asked.

"He's with Manoso. If he didn't say anything about us, and the plan was that if he had to break he wouldn't, he's fine. Manoso would not kill an FBI agent." Minardi said.

"Can I call Ranger?" Stephanie asked hesitantly. "If you want us to work together, I can help with that." Stephanie added quickly. That Minardi, who had looked doubtful, hesitated made her heart race. He shook his head.

"We'll call him from the safe house. He needs to look at the file first. I want to tell you, Ms Plum, that if you attempt to go back on our agreement, you will die. Have no doubts about that." Stephanie knew he meant every word.

"What exactly was the FBI looking for putting someone in deep cover in Rangeman?" Ranger asked. They were still in the van and Tank was in the driver's seat. Everything about Ranger's posture with his elbows resting on his thighs and his hands folded read casual chat but Rey knew the danger that lurked behind that calm expression.

"I've told you all I can," Rey said. "It's up to you to decide where we go next." His stomach turned. Ranger sat up and reached over to where he'd casually put his knife. He looked down at the blade and slid it down his thumb so that a tiny streak of red appeared. Rey tried to keep the alarm out of his expression. He thought he knew Ranger so he thought that Ranger would draw the line at killing but then he'd betrayed Rangeman. The people with whom he worked had been in some bad situations and a betrayal was treason and treason was a crime punishable by death.

"Maybe you'd like to have a moment to think things over?" Ranger suggested. His phone, which was hooked into the onboard equipment, vibrated on the desktop. He hit a button and studied the message before opening the attachments.

"Tank, you need to check this out," Ranger called. Tank pulled the van over and got into the back. He checked the documents.

"Minardi is giving you Collins, why would he do that?" Tank asked.

"I think we have something to discuss," Ranger said, pointing at the message as he read it aloud.

"He's not going to be hurting Stephanie while extending this kind of olive branch. He has something you want and obviously you have something he wants."

"But what could he logically want from me?" Ranger said, wondering if this was another of Minardi's games. Whatever it was, he planned to play along and he planned to get Stephanie back. He would break any law he had to break to make it happen.

**Note: Next chapter will bring the storylines together.**


	11. Chapter 11

Stephanie was on edge when they pulled up to a nice suburban home in a comfortable neighborhood. Eduardo clicked the garage opener and idled in the driveway before pulling into the garage. Stephanie followed Eduardo and Minardi into the kitchen of the home. Jamie and KT were behind her and she felt truly trapped and they moved single file into a dining room.

"Have a seat," Minardi instructed moving to one side, giving her full view of the room. She looked up to see Ranger, Tank and Rey sitting the table and could not hold back a small squeal filled with both delight and fear. For so long she'd been telling herself she would see him again not completely convinced she ever would.

"Can I?" she whispered to KT, "I have to." KT nodded and she ran around the table as Ranger stood and threw herself into his arms burying her head in his neck. He held her a little tighter than was natural and it hurt but felt so good and safe. She needed to stay with him, to be able to reach out and touch him because when she touched him, she knew everything would be okay. Someone coughed and she and Ranger pulled apart. Stephanie could see the strain on his face so kept his hand in hers and she slid into the chair next to him hoping that no one would object. No one did.

"Manoso," Minardi began, "If you've decided that now you're reunited with the lovely Stephanie, you and your mountainous sidekick can take her out of her, she will be dead before either of you have a chance to get upright. He nodded to a massive cold air return grate. The revelation was not one to Ranger, he'd spotted a glint off of a rifle sight in the cold air return the moment they'd walked into the room and dealing with that particular problem would be easy when and if the time came. He knew that whatever happened, he wasn't leaving without Stephanie.

"The file I sent you, my goal is to show you that I'm willing to make peace to get back at a greater enemy." Minardi said.

" Tony Collins." Ranger said.

"Of course."

"Why give the file to me," Ranger asked. "Why not just turn it over to the FBI?"

"They know what he does," Minardi explained, "They sanction what he does. The extreme torture of prisoners that he carries out. Did you read through the Thai documents that I sent? I know you read Thai." Ranger nodded and Stephanie stared at him in surprise. Minardi chuckled.

"How well do you know Manoso, Ms. Plum. You speak and read 12 languages fluently?" he asked.

"16," Ranger said flatly.

"You've been busy since we last met," Minardi laughed. "The Thai documents, did you read them?"

"Of course," Ranger said feeling sick at the thought of the police reports and attached pictures of little mutilated and burned bodies.

"The Thai prostitutes he tortured and killed for fun. The FBI will turn away from that but not the people you know. The people you know will help me do what I need to do which is to eliminate this threat."

"I saw the pictures of your brother…" Ranger began.

"You were meant to see them."

"Really, you just want Collins dead." Ranger completed. Minardi laughed again.

"Of course, I want him dead. I also want my brother back. Do you know what happens to horses when the break their legs in a race?" He asked. Ranger stayed silent fearing where Minardi was going with this. "No? The other racers gather around the horse to shield him from the crowd while the rider, the person who most cares for the animal, has sympathy on him and ends his misery."

"You want to end Paul's misery and you want me to help," Ranger said.

"Exactly," Minardi confirmed. "I know that when you took him in you believed in the law but the law has not treated him in a just way. I love him. I need to end this for him."

Ranger sat silent, not sure if he had underestimated Minardi's insanity or if Minardi was the one thinking most clearly. He squeezed Stephanie's hand a bit tighter to let her know that everything would be okay.


	12. Chapter 12

Ranger and Stephanie were still holding hands when they walked into the war room to go over the plan as to how Minardi proposed they would take Collins down.

"I need a moment alone with Stephanie," Ranger said. It wasn't a question. Minardi raised an eyebrow.

"Why would you think I'd allow that?" he asked.

"I'm not asking you if you'll allow it. I'm telling you that if you expect me to agree to anything, you'll give me a few minutes with Stephanie." Minardi looked to KT.

"Best location is the bathroom. No way out." She said.

"You may have two minutes in the bathroom. I would suggest you not try anything, Manoso. My snipers will not be aiming at you."

"I understand," Ranger said. He nodded to Tank to indicate that all was well and then followed KT to a small bathroom. He sat on the edge of the bathtub and pulled Stephanie into his lap and kissed her deeply. He'd meant for the kiss to be soft, he wasn't sure what she'd been through since they'd last seen each other but he couldn't hold himself back. His kiss turned sweeping and intense forcing her lips apart and his tongue inside. Her arms tightened around his neck as one hand dug into her thick, curly, hair. He forced himself to break contact.

"I'm sorry," he gasped fighting to calm his raging erection which he was sure Stephanie could feel riding against her hip. Her eyes were wide and luminous and she looked very aroused.

"Not the time," she said, seemingly more to herself.

"It's not, you're right." Ranger said, shifting his erection again. It wasn't going to go away as long as she was on his lap and he wasn't moving her so he chose to simply ignore it.

"Did Collins hurt you?" Ranger asked. "Minardi's file." He said in response to Stephanie's surprise.

"No. Except for when they brought me out to call you, I just sat in a leaky, basement, room. KT came just in time because I know they planned to kill me." Stephanie said, an involuntary shiver passing through her. Ranger wrapped her more securely in his arms.

"Minardi hasn't hurt you?" Ranger asked.

"No. He says that he needs my help. He said that if I helped him that everything would be settled between you and I could go home."

"You believe him?" Ranger asked.

"Sometimes. I believe him more because of what Collins did to him. You saw the picture?" she asked. It was Ranger's turn for an involuntary shiver. "Can you imagine if someone you loved….that happened to them?" Ranger took a moment of silence to absorb the impact of Stephanie's words. He'd thought about it, of course, especially with Stephanie facing the unknown and having been with Collins. If one looked at it that way, he had a lot for which to thank Minardi.

"You know we have to talk," he said after a moment.

"I know," she whispered.

"I know how you felt about Morelli. I know you feel guilt that you shouldn't feel. We've got to talk about that, Babe." Ranger said softly.

"I know."

"You know you can trust me," Ranger said. His voice was deep and intense.

"Always," Stephanie said without hesitation. There was a knock at the door.

"Times up," KT said. Ranger swept his face toward Stephanie's and kissed her with an intensity that left her feeling achy in all the right places and gasping for breath.

"Can't make them think we didn't make the most of our time, Babe," he said winking at her. They stood and she leaned on him as they walked toward the door, her legs feeling slightly rubbery.

"Whatever happens, Babe, you can always trust me." He said as he opened the door and they followed KT down the hallway to where everyone was waiting.


	13. Chapter 13

Chairs were laid out in front of a hanging monitor on which a map was displayed.. Stephanie, Ranger and KT took the last three. Stephanie and Ranger were still holding hands. She wasn't ready to let go of him yet and didn't realize that he was feeling the same way.

"The plan is simple," Minardi said as he stood in front of the screen. "We don't know where Collins is keeping Paul. We had narrowed it to the building in the Design District where Stephanie was held but searched the building with heat cameras and found no one. That doesn't mean that Collins isn't holding him somewhere our camera can't see. The ideal result is that we will find Paul, recover him and take Collins at the same time. We know Collins has heavy artillery behind him but if we can slide in, I think we can manage of capture with a minimum loss of life. This is where you come in with your men, Manoso. This is your field of battle. This is what you trained for. You have done search and recovery in the most impossible settings. Collins in the Design District is going to be child's play for you."

"What do you plan to do with him when you have him?" Ranger asked. Minardi smiled and a series of images flashed on the screen. The picture Stephanie had seen of the smiling man holding severed genitals, the little burned bodies from the Thai reports. Minardi also looked pointedly at Stephanie in a clear message.

"What do you think I should do with him, Manoso? Is this someone you should care about? You haven't suffered a personal loss at his hands but you came close. He does not afford his victims a peaceful passing." Ranger shrugged in acceptance of the statement. In actual fact, if left in a room with Collins, Ranger wasn't sure he wouldn't kill him himself.

"Where does Stephanie come in? If she's not needed here….." Ranger began. Minardi cut him off.

"You'd send her home? He took her from your home. Don't you think he'd manage to do it again?" Ranger winced inwardly. He regretted that his security hadn't anticipated such a possible breach against Stephanie. Their relationship was….not a relationship….but new and unknown.

"My men are ready for him," Ranger said, crossing his arms over his chest and taking Stephanie's hand into the fold to pull her closer. It was an unconscious measure to keep her as close to him as possible. Tank noted it but knew everyone else would simply see it as settling back.

"Maybe. Collins is more devious and deadly than either of us might have imagined possible. He'd blow up the block if it got him what he wanted." Minardi said. Ranger had to accept it as truth. Ranger turned to Tank.

"Call Hal. I need his special hacking skills on this. Get me satellite images and heat signatures of the areas and all of the buildings in the Design District. Look for holes within the building. Areas without a reading. Is Bobby back?"

"Back today," Tank confirmed. Bobby has used his vacation to build houses in Peru. He always said that whenever he could get any of the Rangeman to go, everyone worked twice as hard to keep up with them.

"Call Bobby. We need a unit on the ground. Highly sensitive search and rescue. We've gotta be invisible." Ranger turned to Minardi.

"Any other possibles?" he alluded to the district.

"Not that we've narrowed down." Minardi responded.

'Have you had a tail on him?" Ranger asked.

"Haven't been able to keep it." KT responded. "Two of them disappeared completely." Her tone was ominous. Ranger turned to Rey.

"This is where you're gonna be useful, Feeb. Give Tank the name of the person you called before Collins showed. We're going to tag him hard. Tell him that we want a sit down with Collins because I need his help getting Stephanie back. He doesn't know that I know anything about him involvement. Tell them I'm desperate but not too desperate, Collins won't believe that. Once he makes contact with Collins we should only need 30 seconds to tag a location. That will get us to the where. We WILL NOT take him." He turned to Minardi. "I'm going to uphold my deal with you. You saved Stephanie's life and I will not forget that. No matter what you have planned, you will always have my gratitude for…." He stopped. And turned as though the next steps were the most critical.

"It's time to get this bastard and break him." He said. Stephanie would not have wanted to have been Collins in that moment.


	14. Chapter 14

Once everyone was occupied with their tasks, KT led Stephanie to a small bedroom with a bathroom. It felt like years since she'd slept. There was a nightshirt and robe at the end of the bed and Stephanie took a shower and crashed hard. She woke hours later when she felt a heavy weight slide in the bed next to her. She knew by his odor and instinct that it was Ranger. He wrapped his arms around her.

"How are things going?" she asked. Her head was pressed against his chest and his warmth seeped through her. It made her sleepy and aroused all at once.

"This is when we wait, Babe. Everyone is in place doing what they need to do. Sometimes it happens quickly and sometimes we're stuck for days."

"What do you think Minardi is going to do to Collins?" she asked. He sighed and she curled closer to his side.

"What do you think he should do?" Ranger asked. Stephanie shrugged. "This is one of those moments, Babe. This is where you find out what kind of man you are. Life isn't black and white. There are all sorts of shades of gray that maybe the average person doesn't get to see. When you do a job like I do – or you do now – you see the worst of people. You see what they're truly capable of doing. The law won't stop Collins, Minardi is right there. As twisted as it is, he has the law on his side so sometimes it's up to the people who can. I know you can't and I wouldn't ask you to live with that sort of thing but I have and I can and if you need me to carry that weight for you ever, no matter what happens with us, I will." He kissed her forehead and then rolled on his back to rest his other arm behind his head. They were silent for a moment. Stephanie was absorbing what Ranger had said while Ranger was wondering if he could hold himself back from covering her with his body and easing his aching erection in her soft body. They had to talk first. He had to know. Better now, he supposed.

"What do you think about when you think of Morelli?" Ranger asked. Stephanie leaned on an elbow. He had clearly surprised her. She stared at him for a moment to gauge what he wanted to know before deciding to say the first thing she'd thought when he asked.

"I have happy memories. I remember them. I have not so happy memories but I push those away. I wonder if we had stayed together if maybe he'd have been more careful. He was really upset about the breakup, you know that?" she looked at Ranger who nodded. "I loved him. I did. I didn't love him in the way he wanted and we were so awful together. So toxic. But he had so little time left. I didn't know." She wiped a tear.

"You couldn't have known," Ranger said softly. "It's not your fault."

"My mind says it's not my fault but my heart..." She paused too overcome to continue.

"Your heart is wrong, Babe." He said.

She fell back to his chest resting her head.

"Was he happy?" she wondered aloud. "When he went. I so hope he was happy."

"I've seen a lot of people die, Babe. A lot. They go on their own terms but I like to think that death sigh when all of the breath leaves their body. All of their cares leave then. The worries. The little things. The stresses of life. All of that is gone and whatever comes in the afterlife is peace. Wherever Joe is now, Babe, he's at peace. " Ranger felt her tears soaking through his shirt.

"He is at peace. Saving those people was the way he would have wanted to go and he was never like his father. Not for one day." Ranger's tone was fierce.

"He wasn't," Ranger agreed. He'd never known the senior Morelli but he'd heard rumors as one does in the Burg. "Not for a day."

"He'd think of that as a complete life," Stephanie said, wiping her tears.

"He would," Ranger agreed.

"What about us?" Stephanie asked. Ranger was startled by the change of subject.

"What do you mean?" he asked. He felt her sigh.

"That's embarrassing," she said, with a self-deprecating laugh. "I get a vibe from you sometimes like maybe there's an us but I'm not sure. I know you've said you're not into relationships but I'm not into them in the traditional sense either. I…care….I care about you a lot and….." Ranger cut her words off with a deep kiss crushing her back into the mattress and setting her body on fire. When their lips parted, they were both gasping for air.

"There is an us. I've wanted to talk to you for so long. I didn't know how you were feeling." He groaned running a hand through his short hair, "We've wasted so much time."

"Let's not waste anymore," Stephanie said reaching up to restart the sensual assault on their already tenuous control.


	15. Chapter 15

Ranger had been dressed and sitting in the bed for about an hour when a soft knock came at the door. Stephanie woke instantly and sat up holding the sheet over her bare chest. Her hair was everywhere. Ranger smiled. They were a long way from settled but they'd made enough progress and then made that progress over and over again. He felt more optimistic than he had in a long time.

Never one to take a chance, he looked for possible weapons in the room and found several.

"Enter," he called. Tank walked into the room followed by KT. A big smile broke across the face of Ranger's lifelong friend as he took in the situation.

"Good to know you've been resting," he said with barely concealed laughter. Stephanie rolled her eyes.

"What is it?"" Ranger asked, ignoring the attempt at humor.

"We're moving," Tank said. "The uglies with Collins at the house have been spotted and Hal is on their tail from the sky."

"Excellent," Ranger said. He turned to Stephanie, "Get dressed as quick as you can, Babe, and meet us in the war room." He wasn't going to take any chances on leaving her behind. Anyone who wanted her from now on would have to go through him.

Ranger found Minardi's team and Rey gathered and waiting for him in the war room.

"What's your plan?" Minardi asked. "You may have your men on the ground but we can't go swarming in. We don't know that these guys are meeting Collins and that will only tip him off."

"These are the best of the best." Ranger cautioned. "If Collins has a hint of what we're doing, he's better than I think he is. Once we get confirmation of Paul's location, we want to act immediately." Minardi nodded. Ranger was going to keep a very close eye on Minardi. There was something very off about his reaction to the impending situation and maybe it was anticipation that everything would go well or maybe it was as Ranger suspected, he was up to something. Ranger nodded imperceptibly to Tank and then to Minardi. His friend noted the nod and indicated that he was suspicious as well. Once Stephanie arrived in the war room everyone loaded into a new surveillance vehicle that Ranger's team had delivered. Ranger noted with satisfaction the florist logo on the side of the truck. Where they were going, no one would look twice at a florist's truck.

Tank sat at the communication center and made a connection to Hal on a secure line.

"Update?" he asked.

"Tracked to a building with a big blank space. Warehouse east of the Design District. Twelve heat signatures registering. Advance team is going in. Will keep you posted." Hal said.

"Roger." Tank switched off and turned to Ranger.

"Now we wait," Ranger said. He fit his com piece into his ear and passed additional sets around to the rest of the team. The radio crackled to life.

"Sending coordinates. Target and vic at location. They'll proceed on command." Hal said. Ranger turned to Minardi.

"It has to be us. Tell them," Minardi said, getting increasingly anxious. "TELL THEM TO STOP!" he yelled. Tank turned back to the board and radioed Hal.

"Stand by. We will be giving this the personal touch. Tell the team to let us know if there's any movement away from the building by either the target or the vic. " Tank said.

"Roger," Hal confirmed. Tank programmed the address into the GPS and Rey raced to the location. They were about to turn into the lot when the radio crackled.

"They're on the move," Hal said. Ranger saw a van pulled very close to the door and people moving between the van and building. He opened the window and shot hitting the two tires facing the van. They tires didn't deflate and Ranger cursed himself as he saw urgent movement. Despite the silencer, they'd heard it. It would make sense that Collins would have Honeycomb tires which had been made for the military because they wouldn't deflate when shot. Ranger could tell by the movement that despite his silencer, the sound had been noted. He threw open the door and jumped out of the van pulling Stephanie with him. He looked where he knew one of his men would be and pointed at Stephanie.

"Go that way, Babe, someone will meet you," he said. "I'll be back, I promise." He kissed her quick.

"Stay on her until she's with someone you know." He nodded. Ranger headed for the fray.


	16. Chapter 16

Ranger closed his eyes, this is what he'd trained for. As he edged around the van. He could hear the running feet. There were four people, one of them was being dragged. That must be Paul. He held up his fingers and waved his hand forward to indicate the direction they should go.

"Hal, are our men in position?" Ranger asked.

"Yes," Hal said.

"Tell them no one gets out and to stand by for further instructions." Ranger ordered.

"Roger," Hal confirmed.

Ranger followed his instincts and the sound of their footsteps. Someone men needed technical equipment but Ranger had the best training which outplayed any equipment he might have been able to buy or source. The best advantage was that he knew his adversary. Collins may be cruel but he was predictable. He would set an ambush to slow Ranger down.

"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Ranger asked into the comm piece.

"You know I am," Tank said. "I'll handle it. You keep going."

"Roger." Ranger said. He cut off to a staircase. He'd be out of hearing range but his instinct and training told him where Collins was going and if he did it right, he could be there first.

"Give me a route to the blank space," he called to Hal and the location of the target.

"Blank space is two floors below your location and 500 ft to the right. Two heat sigs on the floor you were on and two heat sigs seem to be headed for the elevator."

"Roger," Ranger said. His plan was in place. Collins was doing just what Ranger thought he would…..and that thought worried Ranger deeply. He stopped. Collins would know that he'd anticipated this.

"No heat signature from the blank space," he said into the comm.

"I wouldn't get one boss," Hal reminded him needlessly.

"How many heat sigs in the building right now?" Ranger asked.

"Four," Hal confirmed.

"No one left?"

There was a pause before Hal answered.

"No one."

"That leave 9 heat sigs in the blank space." Ranger said, thinking out loud. He now knew that he needed to get to Collins first.

"You copy, Tank?" Ranger asked.

"A little busy right now, boss, but I got it," Tank said, sounding out of breath.

"Report," Ranger said.

"One subdued one to go. Persistent little bastards," Tank said.

"Let's try to keep loss of life to a minimum," Ranger advised. He heard someone coming up behind him and turned to see Minardi running down the hallway.

"Let's get down there! If he gets in there, we won't get him out," Minardi yelled. Ranger stopped and stared at Minardi.

"If we get down there we have 9 trained military professionals to contend with. I'd rather we take him up here and save the loss of life." Ranger said dryly.

"How do you propose to do that?" Minardi asked.

"He's not taking Paul to the safe room, he's taking him somewhere else and I need to know where that is. We're dealing with a very dangerous person here." Ranger said.

"You're dealing with a very dangerous person right here," Minardi said. "I would suggest you do what I say." Ranger smiled having anticipated Minardi's move and Ranger's knife pressed into Minardi's belly button.

"We can both die or we can both get some revenge. Which do you want?" he asked.


	17. Chapter 17

Minardi smiled and pulled his gun away.

"I say we get this bastard."

"I agree," Ranger said, slipping the knife its holster. He continued to look Minardi in the eye and spoke into the earpiece.

"Hal, neutralize the extras," he ordered. Minardi smiled again.

"I will pretend that you and I mean the same thing when we say neutralize but I know that's not true." Ranger chuckled despite himself.

"It's not the way I work," he said. Minardi inclined his head respectfully.

"To each his own," he said.

"Position, Hal?" he said.

"One floor below at the end of the hall," Hal responded.

Ranger followed Minardi down the hall. No way was he going to turn his back on the man. They made their way down the staircase and into the hallway. Minardi reached for the handle of the door nearest him. Ranger grabbed his wrist.

"Careful!" he advised. He pulled a small device from his pocket and waved it over the handle. It indicated by flashing light that the handle was coursing with electric current. He ran the wand over the door to find that it hadn't been so guarded.

"Careless," he said to Minardi though a little suspicious of why Collins had skipped that step. It seemed so unlike him to lack that attention to detail.

He kicked the base of the door and it swung up cracking loudly against the opposite wall and he saw why Collins hadn't guarded the door better. He'd wanted them to come in. This was a play he'd scripted and he'd predicted their every move.

Paul was seated in a chair up to his knees in a child's swimming pool. Wires coursing with electric current hung from the ceiling and Collins controlled the switch.

"Come any closer, Minardi, and your brother is Barbeque." Collins warned. This was exactly that Collins got off on and it made Ranger ill. Minardi folded his arms.

"Do it," Minardi said, his voice cold. Collin's smile wavered. "Do it," Minardi repeated, "And once you have, you might want to jump in. I would not advise you to leave yourself alive with me any longer than you must."

Collins turned to Ranger and then back to Minardi, smiling again.

"You're bluffing. No way is Captain America going to….." Minardi cut him off with a single shot to Paul's head. Collins had clearly not anticipated losing his pawn and his jaw dropped as Paul slumped into the water and they all watched as Collins hand accidentally hit the button and Paul's body danced in the water which was rapidly turned dark red. Collins turned to Ranger.

"Manoso?" he said. Ranger held up his hands.

"This is where you get away and I have no idea of where you've gone," Ranger said, "Probably you're somewhere deep where not even the Feebs can find you." He heard KT and Jamie enter the room and turned to walk out in the hallway.

"All good?" he said into the mouthpiece.

"All good," Hal confirmed. "I'm on my way up. Have Bobby contact the travel agent. It's time to get the hell out of Miami."

"Roger," Hal said. As Ranger reached the top of the stairs he heard a blood curdling scream that he hoped to one day forget. As Collins learned, what you put out there comes back to you and Ranger thought in what little time he had left, he would learn that lesson well.

Ranger opened the door and walked out into the Florida heat and sunshine. Tank was waiting for him with Stephanie by his side. Stephanie ran over to him and hugged him tightly. He would never again let her go.


	18. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

It had taken some doing and renting an entire island but Ranger convinced Stephanie to finish out their vacation. They'd done a lot of talking and they'd done a lot of not talking but they hadn't talked about the most important thing – what happens next. They were reclined on lounge chairs watching the tide roll in.

"How are you feeling?" Ranger asked, "You know, about what happened?"

"I'm feeling safer now," Stephanie said. "You've helped with that. I wish you'd have let me come in with you."

"I couldn't put you in that position, Babe, and really, the fewer people who saw….." he began.

"I don't want to think about that," she said, shaking slightly. Ranger pulled her from her chair and into his lap with the ease of a person picking up a feather. She snuggled into his hard chest.

"I'd rather not either," he admitted.

"Does it bother you?" she asked.

"Leaving Collins?" she nodded. "No. Sometimes you have to make your own justice and Minardi made his." He'd never tell her about Minardi shooting his brother in the head. He'd seen difficult things and they always stayed, this was one.

"I don't know what I'd do."

"I hope you never have to find out," he responded. It seemed a perfect time to bring up the topic that had danced on the edge of his mind for days.

"We're going home in two days," he said. He felt her nod against his chest. "What then?" She sat up and looked at him. "We've said there's an "us" and we've said that we care about each other but we haven't talked about what comes next." Stephanie settled back against his chest.

"I just don't want to rush…." She started.

"It's not a rush," Ranger said. "I feel like I've known you for 10 years."

"I do too," Stephanie said. "This feeling isn't new but we're new."

"We should have done this a long time ago," he said.

"We should have." She sat up again and her blue eyes met his dark ones, "I don't want to be married or have kids. I like my life and I like my space but I also like you." She paused, "I love you."

"I love you too, Babe. My life is perfect except one thing, you're not in it. You're not the smile I wake up to in the morning or the person I rush home to at night."

"We could have that," Stephanie protested, "Just in our own space."

"Will you move somewhere more secure?" Ranger asked. "Not in with me, just somewhere where the whole world doesn't have the combination to the lock on your door."

"Deal," Stephanie said, cuddling back into Ranger's chest.

"This is just the beginning, Babe," Ranger said, "And it took such a long time."

"So much longer than it should have," Stephanie agreed.


End file.
